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| Broad Plantain; Plantago major L. |
Plantain Family; PLANTAGINACEÆ
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| Winter usually freezes Broad Plantain back to its roots, the same way it drives us to more indoor activity. But we feature it
now because this column has already covered most weeds that brave winter weather. This month's celebrity, the 70th in our series,
is closely related to English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata; Weed of the Month November 1986) but has broad leaves of light
green, instead of slender dark green ones. |
| Be the weather ever so foul now, when the days grow warm and sunny again, as they surely will, Broadleaf Plantain shall
awaken from its dormant wintry rest. It will send forth wiry stalks of congested tiny flowers, becoming prominent from May through
August. Find it thriving in heavy soil, commonly along footpaths, road margins, lake edges, heavily-used, muddy lawns, etc. No amount
of trampling fazes this tough weed; great rubbery endurance characterizes it. The roots grip firmly; it tolerates drought, and grows in
full sun or shade. Its flowers are wind-pollinated, yet it can set viable seed even in isolation. Because of its remarkable staying ability,
plus its prodigious seed-production, it has spread far from its original European homeland. Certain Native Americans are said to
have called it "White Man's Foot" and used it as a medicinal herb. |
Other names are Waybread, Great Plantain, and Lamb's Tongue. It is edible, and less bitter than English Plantain. But
don't begin drooling --in no event is the weed choice eating. Try only tender young leaves --and brace yourself. If it infests your
soil, attempt uprooting or turning under every one before they ripen any seeds. Curiously, some gardeners enjoy growing the
purple-leaf variety of this weed as an ornamental. It can easily over-run its allotted space.
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Originally published as the Seattle Tilth newsletter Weed of the Month in January 1993, along with an illustration from a book.
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